LAMPS-TONGUE. 71 



the Anglo-Saxon word for a soldier was cempa. If now, like 

 the talented writer on Chinese metaphysics, who so excited 

 the wondering admiration of Mr. Pickwick, we " combine 

 our information/' we shall see why our plant is the kemps. 

 It has from time immemorial, heen one of the favourite 

 games of country children to arm themselves with a par- 

 ticularly tough lamb's-tongue stem, and then to challenge 

 all comers to break it, each in turn holding up their 

 stem for the others to slash at with theirs, the one that 

 longest survived the ordeal being of course victorious and 

 the champion. The plant is also for the same reason pro- 

 vincial ly called cocks, an allusion that carries us back to tho 

 days of our grandfathers, when a main of fighting-cocks 

 had such an attractive power. 



The economic use of the lamb's-tongue seems to have 

 long been a matter of dispute, though we imagine that the 

 verdict is now finally given against its utility. Curtis, in 

 his "Flora Londinensis/' says " the farmers in general con- 

 sider this species of plantain as a favourite food of sheep 

 and cattle, hence it is frequently recommended in the laying 

 down of meadow and pasture land ; and the seed is for 

 that purpose kept in the shops. How far the predilec- 

 tion of cattle for this herb is founded in truth, we cannot 

 at present determine ; nor do we pretend to say how far it 

 is economical to substitute this plant in the room of others 

 which produce a much greater crop, and which they show 

 no aversion to. We should be rather inclined to think that 

 plantain (or rib-grass as it is called) should be but spar- 

 ingly made us.e of, particularly if the farmer's chief aim 

 be a crop/' As a good crop really is the farmer's chief aim 

 ordinarily, it will be seen that our author holds it in very 

 small esteem. 



